Greater Madison Mountain Biking

Do you have a pair of snow shoes and some free time? The local fatbike community can use your help!

Why stomp the trails with snow shoes?

Grooming machines are fantastic tools for quickly laying down rad trails in the winter but they are limited resources that can only do so much. Only a few people are trained to operate them, they can't get into some of the tightest and steepest sections, they need just enough but not too much snow to operate in, and they can break down.

Snow shoes are the original fat bike grooming tools are still hugely valuable even in the era of mechanical groomers. They can operate in any depth of snow, can access any terrain, anyone can use them and create a great riding surface.

How to be a good stomper:

Grooming a trail with snow shoes is a pretty simple operation but there are a few things you can do to be a champion stomper:First and most importantly keep in mind the goal is to fully flatten the snow down evenly, one set of tracks does not accomplish this and actually makes the situation worse by leaving alternating offset packed and unpacked snow which is a nightmare to ride on. It's best to work as a team of two or more people with the second person aiming their snow shoes outside of the steps of the lead stomper. If you are out there solo in fresh snow then plan on doubling over your tracks at least once to even out the trail.

Once you've got that covered the rest of the tips are icing on the cake...* Take short steps to maximize the number of stomps you get in per mile.* Try to land flat footed to compress the snow nice and evenly* Follow the trail and aim for the best riding line, the path you lay down might be used for weeks or months so make it a fun line* Spend a little extra time fully packing in berms so they get a nice firm base.